The present invention generally relates to storage and dispensing bins, and more particularly to bins for storing and dispensing dry flowable materials.
Storage and dispensing bins are frequently used to store and dispense granular and other flowable materials, such as livestock and other animal feedstuffs, plant seed or other particulate and/or pelletized materials. In particular, feed storage bins are commonly used to store and dispense livestock feedstuffs such as oats, corn, milo, barley, and alfalfa pellets. The bins typically include a cylindrical hopper body with a conical funnel portion at a bottom end thereof, wherein the conical funnel portion includes an outlet through which the feedstuffs are dispensed. The feedstuffs are often dispensed into an augur system for delivery to livestock, but may be dispensed using less sophisticated equipment.
However, common problems are associated with conventional feed storage bins. For example, as the supply within the bins is dispensed and begins to diminish, it is difficult to easily ascertain how much feedstuffs remain. The bins are usually made of steel or other non-transparent material, and are therefore not amenable to external visual inspection. Thus, it is difficult to know when to re-order feedstuffs or refill the bins. Often times, feedstuffs are entirely depleted from a storage bin before the dwindling supply is noticed, at which time immediate refilling of the bin may not be a feasible option.
Additionally, animals such as horses are notoriously finicky when it comes to the freshness of their feedstuffs. Unfortunately, the shape of the conical funnel portion in combination with the inherent physical properties of the granular feedstuffs contribute to spoilage of at least a portion of the feedstuffs stored within the bins. Specifically, as the feedstuffs descend down the cylindrical hopper portion for dispensing through the conical funnel portion, there is often a residual layer that naturally forms around a portion of the inner circumference of the conical funnel portion. This phenomenon occurs because of one of the inherent physical properties of each particular feedstuff or dry flowable material, known as the angle of repose, or the angle formed with a horizontal surface when free-flowing material comes to rest. Thus, the feedstuffs will flow from top to bottom, while a residual layer around a portion of the inner circumference of the conical funnel portion remains. The residual layer typically includes the feedstuffs that were first deposited in the bin, and by the time this layer is finally dispensed, which is only after the balance of the bin has been emptied, there is a “first in, last out” result. In other words, the oldest of the feedstuffs are often dispensed last, and are frequently refused by the livestock.